PART III - Fabrication of Microstrip Interconnections for Semiconductor Microwave Integrated Circuits

Interconnections for integrated circuits operating at rnicrowaue frequencies rzust be formed as microwave transmission lines. This paper describes the fabrication of one type of microwave transmission line known as microstrip, which can be fabricated on momlithic integvated circuits by deposition of 0.1- to 2.0-mil-thick metal and dielectric films. A microstrip line consists of a narrow conducting strip separated from a gvound plane by a dielectric material. Thick films of good conducting materials are required for low loss at high frequencies. Vacuum-evaporation methods for depositing aluminum and silver films are described. The narrow conducting strip forming the top conductor is defined by photoresist-etching techniques after the thick rnetal film is deposited. Gold plating with a photoresist-masking technique is also used to forrrz thick metal conductors. The microstrip dielectric layer is formed by deposition of suitable dielectric films 0.1 to 2.0 mils thick. Several deposition techniques were investigated. Electron-beam evaporation of quartz is described. Electrical characteristics of deposited microstrip lines at microwave frequencies are included and the microwave power attenuation as a function of conductor and dielectric thickness is given. It is concluded that the deposition of microstrip transmission lines is a practical way to achieve low-loss interconnections in monolithic integrated circuits. CONNECTIONS between devices in low-frequency and digital circuits are usually made by connecting the devices with a length of conductor such as a metal lead oi- a wire. If this method were applied to microwave integrated circuits, the reactance of the connection due to the series inductance and parasitic capacitance would be very high, in fact too high to permit successful circuit operation. In addition, resonance and antenna effects would occur at high frequencies, especially when the connections approach the wavelength.' Connections which are sections of transmis- sion line will overcome these difficulties. The electromagnetic field is confined to the volume of the transmission line, parasitic effects are not present, and circuit design utilizes familiar transmission-line techniques. TRANSMISSION LINES One type of transmission line geometrically adaptable to integrated circuits is known as micrstri. A microstrip line can be generated from a coaxial line as shown in Fig. l(a). The outer conductor of the coaxial line is distorted into an ellipse (b) and finally separated at the extremities of the ellipse to form the strip transmission line shown in (c). One of the ground planes is then removed, leaving a conducting ground plane and a narrow conducting strip separated by a dielectric. Two configurations of the microstrip line were considered in this investigation, Fig. 2. Type (a) is fabricated from a semiconductor slice with the ground plane and top conductor deposited on each side of the slice. The semiconductor slice serves as the die lec-